Until the Day I Die and Beyond
by Megz McGizzle
Summary: What if the final battle at Hogwarts had ended differently for Tonks and Lupin? Slight DH spoilers. Short, and maybe just a oneshot, not sure yet though.


**Ok, my first Harry Potter story ever, so go easy on me! Hope you like it, though :)  
**

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"Remus!" Tonks cried, running into the courtyard past countless wizards and witches locked in combat, and dodging the multicolored curses and spells flying throughout the air. She tried to ebb the oncoming waves of panic and fear that ran through her, searching desperately for her husband in the mass of people. However, they seemed to all blend together, running past each other in mass confusion, fear, and anger, and her tears also blurring what little she could make out. 

"Remus!" she cried again, louder than she'd ever raised her voice before. "Remus, where are you?" She continued to run, her husband nowhere to be found on the grounds. Suddenly, she was struck by a powerful blast of blue energy, sending her sprawling to the ground, gasping in pain, her wand flying a few feet away from her. Looking upwards, she saw her attacker, a huge smirk across their face.

"Bellatrix…" Tonks hissed, glaring at the woman above her, who in turn gave her a nasty expression as well.

"So," Bellatrix mocked cruelly, "Where's your mutt husband? Lying dead somewhere in his own filthy blood?"

Tonks, blind with rage, launched herself at the woman, catching her off guard and sending her flying to the ground. Once she'd fallen, Tonks quickly had her pinned, hitting her with every ounce of energy she had. However, though disoriented, Bellatrix was able to raise her wand into the air, pointing at Tonks' side.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix managed to say through Tonks' blows, the hatred still dripping from her muffled voice. Tonks, caught off guard, fell off of Lestrange, screaming out into the cold air from the burning agony filling her veins. Soon, she began to feel faint from the immense pain, and her vision began to darken…

* * *

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin cried, sending anther Death Eater's wand flying from his hands. Scared, the Death Eater scrambled to recover his weapon, though Lupin was too quick. "Avada kedavra!" With a flash of green light, the Death Eater suddenly fell to the ground, motionless. Turning, he faced two more Death Eaters advancing on him. He raised his wand, ready to battle the hooded figures, though suddenly stopped as a scream entered his ears, rising just slightly above the other sounds of the chaos around him. His eyes widened with shock; he knew that voice, and the scream sent shivers down his spine. 

Suddenly, he was sent flying backwards by one of the Death Eater's spells. Groaning, he sat up, watching as the Death Eaters came closer. Raising his wand, he screamed, "Avada kedavra!" The Death Eater he'd directed the curse at just barely dodged, quickly firing back with the same spell, though Lupin rolled and dodged it as well. Quickly returning to his feet, he tried avada kedavra once more, this time without missing. One of the Death Eaters dropped to the ground, while the other continued to fire spells at him. Hardly dodging them, Lupin returned the spells, and finally caught the Death Eater on the shoulder with the deadly curse, his limp body crumpling next to his companion's.

Spinning around to face the grounds, Lupin searched desperately for his wife among the crowd, though the mass confusion and constant rush of people and spells made it difficult. His breathing became faster. His heart rate quickened. Where was she?

Finally, he spotted Tonks lying on the ground, writhing in pure agony, screaming horribly as tears ran down her face. Above her, Bellatrix stood, laughing at the younger woman's agony. Pure rage began to fill Lupin, and he charged across the grounds, swiftly dodging two rogue spells that flew through the air as he went. As he came closer, Bellatrix turned to face him, though before she could comprehend who was running towards her, Lupin yelled, "Expelliarmus!" The witch's wand flew swiftly into the air, landing a few yards from the both of them. Stalking closer, Lupin pressed his wand against Bellatrix's throat, glaring icy daggers at her. From the corner of his eye, Lupin could see Tonks had stopped writhing, though he could still hear her gasping as she tried to recover.

"Well, well, well," Bellatrix snarled, "The mutt still lives."

"You're going to pay for what you did to her," Lupin growled, not daring to take his eyes off the woman.

Bellatrix chuckled. "You wish." Before he could react, Bellatrix somehow summoned her wand back to her, and she disapparated into thin air, leaving an enraged Lupin behind. However, he suddenly pushed his anger aside and rushed to Tonks' side, lifting her head from the ground as she continued to groan in pain.

"Dora?" he asked gently, running his hand across her smooth cheek. "Dora, are you ok?"

Tonks looked up at him, surprise and happiness written across her face. "Remus!" she exclaimed, though rather weakly through her pain. "You're alright!"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," he reassured, though concern for her was in his eyes. "But why are you here? Where's Teddy?" He stopped suddenly, a wave of fear coming over him. "Dora, where's Teddy? Is he-"

"He's fine," she cut him off, dousing her husband's raging fear. "He's at my mum's place. He's safe."

Sighing, Lupin nodded. "Alright, but we need to get you out of here, come on," he said, helping to pull her to her feet, and making sure she stayed balanced when her legs nearly gave out from under her. Grabbing her wand, they ran as fast as they could, Lupin stunning the Death Eaters and other enemies that came in their way.

Suddenly, a tall Death Eater stood in their way, blocking their only entrance into Hogwarts. He raised his wand, and just as Lupin shoved Tonks away from the path of the wand, the Death Eater yelled, "Petrificus totalus!" Lupin stopped suddenly, frozen in spot. Both he and Tonks were shocked. Why hadn't he used the death curse? The Death Eater chuckled slightly, as though he'd read their minds. "I always thought it was more fun to do it this way…" Taking out a small, silver dagger, he approached Lupin, who was obviously struggling to move.

"No!" Tonks yelled, scrambling to her feet as fast as she could. The Death Eater took no notice of this, however, and proceeded to raise the blade. Lupin closed his eyes, awaiting the piercing pain that was soon to come, though it never did. Though he couldn't move his neck, he raised his eyes, and was horrified at what he saw.

There, standing just above him, was Tonks, her eyes wide with fear and glazing over as though she were growing tired. Her face suddenly contorted with agony, and as she backed away, Lupin could see the tip of the dagger protruding from the center of Tonks' chest, blood spilling out from the wound and staining her shirt and hands. Dropping to her knees, she clutched her chest with one hand, and with the other, she raised her wand shakily, hardly being able to mutter, "Relashio," before sinking to the ground.

Lupin suddenly was able to move once more, and stumbled slightly as he was released. Glancing up, Lupin saw that the Death Eater had fled, unwilling to face Lupin after what he'd just done. But Lupin didn't care at the moment. All he could see, even with the turmoil raging around them, was Tonks, lying on her stomach with the blade protruding from her back. He fought to fight back the wave of fear and nausea that threatened to overcome him as he gently rolled her over, cradling her frail body. He breathed a small sigh of relief, however, when she saw that she was breathing, though it was labored.

"D-Dora?" he muttered feebly, holding back tears that struggled to get free. "Dora, please, talk to me…"

Tonks looked up at him feebly, her eyes slightly unfocused. "R-Remus…" she breathed quietly, coughing slightly as she did so.

"Come on, Dora," Lupin said pleadingly as he watched his wife become more and more tired. "Stay with me, please! I'll get you somewhere safer…" As gently as he possibly could without wasting precious time, Lupin picked Tonks up into his arms and rushed down the hall, which was equally- if not more- filled with pandemonium as the courtyard had been. Running through the halls, he finally found a classroom that seemed to have been untouched and undisturbed so far. Rushing in, he quickly closed the door and set Tonks on the floor, cradling her head and upper body so the blade pressed no further into her.

"Dora?" he asked terrified, having noticed that Tonks' eyes had closed. Shaking her slightly, he urged, "Dora, no! Come on, wake up!"

Slightly, she complied, opening them as far as her energy would allow. "R-Remus…I'm sorry…T-take care…of Teddy…" she whispered through forced breaths. Squeezing his hand slightly, she smiled. "I love you…Remus Lupin…"

Lupin's eyes widened, scared of what was slipping through his fingers that he couldn't hold on to. "No…No! Dora, please…I can't…I can't live without you…Please don't go!"

Through her pain, Tonks revealed a slight hint of a joking smile. "What," she said weakly, still gasping slightly, though a small glimpse of her witty tone shone through, "No 'I love…you too'?"

That was the Tonks he knew. Even in the face of death she couldn't help but joke. But now she tottered on the line between life and death, a breath's distance from leaving Lupin forever.

Almost hurt at the comment, Lupin let a few stray tears roll down his face, a loving gaze staring into his wife's beautiful eyes. "You know I'll always love you, Nymphadora Tonks…until the day I die and beyond…"

"And beyond…" she repeated gently, her eyes lowering just slightly.

"Dora, please," Lupin begged, setting his hand gently against his wife's cheek. Tonks treasured the warmth coming from her husband's hand, and fondly leaned her head closer to it.

"Remus," Tonks suddenly whispered, obviously losing strength rapidly. "Please…kiss me one more time?"

Surprised, Lupin looked down at her, and let more tears fall. He couldn't stand the bitter sound of the word 'last'. "Dora…"

"Remus," Tonks pressed weakly. "Please…"

Nodding with tears in his eyes, Lupin slowly leaned in, gently raising his wife's head so their lips met in a sudden, passionate kiss. All the love they shared, all the words they wanted to say, were expressed in that one kiss. For a few moments, they were only one, losing track of time and the world of chaos around them, only to be lost in one another. However, Tonks suddenly began to fall limp against him. Just as their lips parted, she breathed almost inaudibly, "Goodbye…" Her body then fell lifeless into his arms, and she fell silent.

Lupin sat shocked. She couldn't be gone. No, she couldn't! "Dora!" he cried weakly, shaking her gentle frame slightly. "Dora, no! No! Please, Dora!" He continued to cry to her uselessly until he finally collapsed into sobs, holding Tonks' bloody body close to his own, rocking back and forth. The one woman he loved more than any other in the entire world, the woman he held no secrets from, the one who he'd vowed to share his life with forever and raise their children together and love tenderly until the day he died, now lay dead in his arms, taken from him in a matter of seconds. He sat there cradling Tonks' limp body for who knows how long, sobbing uncontrollably. He even heard Voldemort's voice resound through the castle at one point, but he didn't care. He couldn't even listen to the evil wizard's words as he was consumed in his grief. Finally, the voice stopped, and the fighting outside soon ceased. Long after the silence had fallen, Lupin finally stood, carrying Tonks, and left to the Grand Hall where he suspected those who remained would have gathered.

When he arrived, he saw the dead lined up along the floor to his right, many of the remaining fighters standing over them, sobbing and mourning for them. To the left, many of the wounded were being treated, each bleeding and groaning in pain.

Suddenly, there was a loud cry from Mrs. Weasley, who immediately rushed to him. "Remus! Oh thank God! What happ-" She suddenly stopped though as she noticed who he was carrying. She paled visibly and more tears formed in her already puffy eyes. "No…she isn't…?"

Lupin nodded silently. The only thing running through his mind as he gently set her next to Fred, whom his heart also gave a twinge of sadness run through as he saw the poor young man- though his heartbreak for Dora was much more wrenching, was the last thing he'd ever told her, and it played over and over in his mind…

_You know I'll always love you, Nymphadora Tonks…Until the day I die and beyond… _

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**Alright, so the "kiss me one last time" line was really cheesy, but I was just so tempted to put it there. And also, I have no freaking clue how Bellatrix could have summoned her wand without another wand, but that's just another one of those logic mishaps that I decided to look over. Haha. Hope you liked it, and I may write a continuation that brings Tonks back, but I'm not so sure. Anywho, please review:)**


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